A good part of Mayor Adams’ new plane on handling asylum seekers arriving in New York seems to be a renewed commitment to much of what the city is already doing, which is good. There has been much to criticize about the haphazard response from the administration (such as Orchard Beach) and the mayor’s rhetoric, but the provision of shelter, food, legal services and other assistance has still been far in excess of what most migrants they have received elsewhere, as many have themselves. attested
It makes sense to centralize many of these functions in a government office, as well as establishing a dedicated arrival center for migrants who can be provided with information and services in a calmer environment, apart from the normal chaos of the City Bus Terminal. Port Authority. Efforts to continue recruiting volunteers and partners, such as faith-based organizations, who have already stepped forward to help, are welcome.
The potentially most important plank of the plan, however, is an effort to coordinate with other states and localities to relocate migrants to places that are ready and willing to receive them and where migrants can find more stable housing and job opportunities in a mutually beneficial dynamic. We’re glad the mayor has heard from us and others about this approach, even though it really shouldn’t be the responsibility of the city to coordinate this.
The federal government has the capacity and resources and should have the motivation to run a national program that connects immigrants with communities who are waiting with open arms in the first place, before they have to head to New York and then figure out a relocation strategy. — delaying your arrival at your final destination and burdening the city with additional costs for people just passing through.
Beyond the operational, the feds have some legislative responsibility here, mainly dealing with the tremendous backlog in the immigration courts and eliminating pointlessly long wait times for immigrants to work authorization. What they should not do is return to refuted and inhumane strategies like banning asylum altogether or reopening of infamous family detention centers.
